Because food is more than fuel for the body

Let's get cooking!

A collection of natural, healthy and tasty recipes

There are a lot of recipes for cassoulet here in the southwest of France. Castelnaudary, Carcassonne or Toulouse fight for the crown of the best recipe or the most original one. Cassoulet is a hearty dish and meant for winter, but restaurants here serve it to tourists in the summer when a lighter diet mayRead More

Lamb shanks are called “souris d’agneau” in French and are the top end of the leg, which is often sold in slices at the butcher’s. They give nice one-person portions and look pretty with the bone sticking upwards. It takes a long time of cooking and can be prepared in advance. Many restaurants do thatRead More

By chance, this post is about rabbit, just as the previous one from some time ago (busy, busy). I made it after reading “Un dîner à poils ou plumes” by Stéphane Reynaud — a lovely cookbook with nice pictures. His warning with this recipe was “not for sensitive souls” and that was not without causeRead More

I am trying out a new online fresh retailer, Tauziet et Co, that allows me to buy goods direct from the producer in southwest France. There is plenty available around here, but not everything. The more you order the smaller the transport fee, so when I do order it is a full carton. That isRead More

Here in the southwest of France, I can buy rather good meat straight from the producer and my recipes tend to remain simple to obtain the most of the natural taste and flavour. But this time I decided to turn two nice veal cutlets into schnitzels in the Vienna fashion. First you flatten the meatRead More

On Mondays, we go to the fresh market of Mirepoix where we have a number of trusted suppliers, like the refrigerated van of Guillemot for meat and the Zengarli family for vegetables. The Guillemot farm lies in the mountains beyond Foix and is run by a Dutchman, Hugo De Jonge Van Ellemeet, and his FrenchRead More

I recently found a website through which you can order fresh products from selected small producers. It works like a kind of market, you have a deadline by which you have to place your orders, the products get prepared and packaged and delivered at your doorstep. Even when you order at several producers, it arrivesRead More

I have a love-hate relationship with offal. I have never eaten brains, testacles or heart and do not intend to either. I did have to change my attitude to duck hearts, though, so who knows. But kidney, liver and sweetbread I do like. Offal is rather perishable so you need to buy it fresh fromRead More

You could make a white bean soup in about 15 minutes with a stock cube, a tin of white beans and some tomato pulp. This recipe takes a lot longer but the time and trouble is worth it as the taste is rich and smooth. You need to cook the dry white beans. I usedRead More

Ossobucco, bone with a hole, is one of the many classic Italian recipes that take more patience than skill. The Milanese version has you coating the meat with flour and adding gremolata, a mixture of parsley and grated lemon rind. Last week I went to the butcher’s in Mirepoix for some slices of cooked ham.Read More

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What’s cooking?

Food is more than fuel for the body. Food is a source of pleasure.

Fresh ingredients and a bit of skill is all you need to cook with the seasons and serve up friendship and love.

Food is culture, food is important. Food can cause or cure ailments. Enjoy what you eat and drink and think about it, where it came from and what it dies to you. Here you will find some ideas and tips about tasty and healthy cooking with locally sourced ingredients in south-west France.